Dragon Boy
by Chihiro77
Summary: Rated T as always for safety. After the deal Haku made to become human is broken Chihiro is taken from him once more. Now he must save her once again. Contains a lot of Japanese mythology and a look into Haku's past. Haku's POV
1. Chapter 1

_**IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: Ok so this is my first Spirited Away fanfiction. I just got a book on mythology and it had a whole but of Japanese myths in it. Now I'm not Japanese so I don't know how accurate this all is and you may have heard different variations of the same myth. Also I'd like to point out that I read Myuzaki said he believed Chihiro did not remember her adventure so I'm going with that. Disclaimer: This is the first and last time I am saying this! I do not own anything! Ok? Good. Now enjoy!**_

The classroom fell silent as I entered, every eye on me. I heard the teacher begin the standard introduction but I was too captivated by the faces in front of me to pay much attention. As I stared into every face I felt the familiar longing to run and hide under a rock. I could tell by the searching looks however that my uneasiness did not show. I only took notice to the small balding man when he pointed to my seat. I nodded and sat down. Almost immediately the girl in front of me turned and began petting my hand in a way that she must have though as seductive.

"So you're Kohaku huh?" She purred, bold enough to not use an honorific. I was use to her type, they were all the same. Big breasted, a group of lackeys following their every move incase they brake a precious pink nail, popular only because they had unlimited access to Daddy's money. I turned away from her and looked out the window to the storm clouds above.

"Now there's no need to be shy. If you're worried about getting lost I can show you around." I got the feeling that the school was not the only thing she would be willing to show me.

"I'm not shy. It just so happens that I'm already bored with your pitiful attempts to seduce me." I said quietly enough for only her to hear. She dropped my hand and turned away with an angry flip of her hair.

"_Talk about first impressions, I love the school already."_ I thought bitterly only to remind myself that it was my senior year. After this I would be free. I continued to search the sky trying to calculate the chance of rain. If it rained it was possible my mood would brighten and I'd be able to think more clearly. More energy would be nice too. Ever since I was little I was happiest when it was bitter cold and raining. When everyone else would be shivering inside praying for some sun I would be outside splashing in puddles, full of seemingly endless energy. I watched the clouds for about fifteen minutes before they cleared away, revealing the bright sun. The joys of having a seat by the window.

The rest of the morning went by in a similar way. Introduction, seat, attacked by a girl, and then boredom. By the time lunch had arrived I was more than happy to be on my own for any length of time. I sat down at an empty table with my meal of uneatable food and tried to organize my thoughts. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see a couple of seniors staring at me with trays. The one who had tapped me smiled. "You're welcome to eat with us but that's my seat." She pushed brown hair from her eyes as I stood and took the one beside her. "I'm Chihiro." She said lightly as the others began to sit around us. "I know the food here isn't fit for humans but I'd eat it. You're going to need strength if you're going to put up with Ami and her gang." She motioned to the girl from first period as she took a bite.

"I'm Kohaku." I smiled back as I slowly took a bite of my own food. To my surprise it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

"First year?" She asked, eyes glittering. "You look as lost as one."

"What?"

"Are you a first year? You know, the little kids who come in here thinking they're so powerful until we beat them down into a nice pulp."  
I smiled to myself. She talked as if she hated the younger teens but here she was sitting with someone who could possibly be one.

"No, I'm a senior." I replied taking another bite.

"Good, so are we." She motioned to the talkative group. "I guess you can call us the outcasts. Don't take it the wrong way, we're liked but we don't really fit anywhere. Not smart enough to be a nerd, not pretty enough to be preps. We're just us. Although I must say that you can easily be a jock if you try out for a sport." She told me with an apologetic smile as if she had insulted me in some way by accident.

"If it's ok I'd like to sit with you guys. A person is hardly an outcast if they're with other outcasts."

Chihiro laughed softly. "Alright Philosopher-san, welcome to the group."

She introduced me to everyone else. They were a wayward bunch but cheerful and accepting. Another boy, whose name I could never remember, drew me a map of the school so I wouldn't have to keep asking for directions.

"So where'd you use to go to?" He asked, patting me roughly on the back so that I almost choked on a mouthful of milk.

"No where you'd know," I replied. "I'm a foster child. I've been pretty much everywhere so it's a hard question to answer."

He became somber after that. "I didn't mean to pry…" He muttered.

"It's a natural question to ask to a new student. I've been asked it before." I smiled grimly to myself. _"Let's hope this is the last."_

After that the days passed quicker than I could have imagined into weeks and then months. Before I knew it winter had arrived bringing frost and hail. Ami and her friends, I discovered there was one of them in all of my classes, would randomly try to bait me into dating them or some other foolishness. At least I had my table of friends at lunch and the food was no longer making my stomach cramp. Chihiro and I became close, spending time outside of school together at her house. I would never let myself admit it but I was to embarrassed to bring her to mine.

A snowball aimed expertly at my head brought me out of my musings and into reality. I barely dogged and aimed one at the streak of brown hair. It came up short, missing by a few inches.

"To bad Haku-kun," Naomi whispered in my ear as she ducked down behind our fort. "I think Ken'ichi was hit…" She bit her bottom lip in worry over her boyfriend.

"I'm sure if he did he's fine." I tried to comfort her. Naomi was small for her age with short black hair in a ponytail under her infamous red hat. "Why did you wear that? It makes you easier to see." I pulled it slowly off her head allowing her to snatch it back.

"Ken'ichi gave it to me!" She explained for the millionth time as she tossed another snowball. "Yes!" She squealed as it made contact to someone on the opposing team. "Hey, we're running low. Make some more will you?" She motioned to the depleting pill of snowballs before running off.

I stood up to grab some more snow when I noticed a shadow above me. I looked up to see Chihiro smiling at a fist full of the white stuff.

"Sorry Nii-san." She told me with fake sympathy. In two seconds she had my face in the snow and was sitting proudly on top of me.

"You're suppose to hit me not tackle me…" I spoke to the ground as I shrugged her off, unable to hide a smile.

"What's that? I can't hear you. Did you say something about rules? What are those?" Her brow wrinkled in thought.

Standing I flung a fistful of snow catching her in the arm. I had used all my strength, not realizing a stone was imbedded in the middle.

"Time out!" I yelled as she fell to the ground, gasping with the pain. "Sorry!" I told her picking her up supporting her knees and back, clutching Chihiro closely to me.

"It's ok Nii-san, no big deal. I don't think it's broken." She told me with a smile, clearly amused at my reaction.

I carried her up the stairs into her house and set her on a chair in the kitchen. Her mother, a nice woman in her late 40s, entered with the first aid kit.

"Ok who got hurt?" She sighed when she saw her daughter. "Naturally. So what happened this time Chihiro?"

"It was all my fault. There must have been a rock or something in my snowball." I replied hastily, not giving Chihiro a chance to answer. I bowed quickly, almost loosing my balance myself.

"It's ok Kohaku-kun, I know you wouldn't do it on purpose." Her mother answered with a chuckle. "Always so polite. It's nothing serious, just a bruise."

After wrapping the purpling arm we went back out. The snow was falling heavily now blocking our vision to some degree. The pathway to the backyard was covered in black ice making our journey even more perilous.

"I am sorry Chihiro-chan." I told her under my breath.

"Oh stop moping! It wasn't you're fault Nii-" She gave a small shriek as she slipped, grabbing onto me for support. If I had been expecting it I may have kept my balance instead of dunking us into the snow. I saw her blush as she noticed she was lying on my chest, her hands on either side of my head.  
"Sorry…" She made to get up but I pulled her back, heart pounding. I didn't have any control over my body as I pulled her closer.

"N-Nii-san?" She asked, blush intensifying.

"Please stop calling me that." I told her, her hair in my face. It was nice smelling like some kind of flower.

"But why?"

"Because if I was you're older brother then what I'm about to do would be very wrong." I lifted her head, looking into brown poles filled with wonder and confusion.

"What are you-" I cut her off then, no longer able to resist.

I wasn't sure what made me want to kiss her, I hadn't even really noticed the feelings were there. It was awkward at first because I was the only one doing anything but once she got over the shock and kissed me back it fell into something natural that made my heart soar. When we finally pulled away she stared at me a bit.

"I didn't think you thought of me that way." She said breathless.

"I've thought of you that way since I met you." I closed my eyes waiting for her to slap me or whatever else was coming my way.

"Thank you…Kohaku." Was the only answer I got from her, my name slowly at the end .

My eyes flew open as all of my memories returned. I remembered my river, running away, Yubaba, Sen, my name, the deal to become human. Her calling me by my name had been the key to unlock it all just like it had been seven years ago.

"Sen?" I asked, seeing if it had any effect on her.

"Who?" Her face scrunched up with thought. My spell was still in place; her memories still locked away from her.

"No one Chihiro." I stood up and brushed myself, offering a hand to her. I pulled her up with forgotten strength almost falling once more as she crashed into me. "Sorry." I smiled at her trying to hold down my panic.

I was no longer human but a spirit. I could feel it in my very bones as the power came rushing back to me. I became acutely aware to all the water around me, making my head spin. We were walking back to the others when time seemed to stop. Everything was silent, no screams at a successful dodge, no snowplows or cars. Even the snowflakes had frozen in the air. Chihiro pressed her body against mine; shaking more with fright than the chill.

"What's going on?"

I shook my head but I knew exactly was happening. I had broken the deal and now Susano had come to drag me back to the spirit world.

After Chihiro had returned with her parents across the border to the human realm I returned to the bathhouse and announced to Yubaba I was leaving. Her anger surprised me and it was all I could do to protect myself from flying objects as I walked out. I knew what I wanted now that my river was dead and I was free. It took me five years to find Susano, god of the seas and the underworld, Yomi. I begged him to allow me to become human, stating that I had nothing left here. At first he had been reluctant to allow it but after some thought he agreed. There was a catch that he hadn't told me about until it was too late. In exchange for humanity I had to surrender all my memories of my world. That included who I was, my past, the places I'd seen, the people I had met, and even the deal. I had woken up in the orphanage with nothing but a name.

"You're lying." Chihiro shivered, hugging me even closer.

"Would you like your memories back?" I asked her, raising a hand above her frightened eyes and began muttering the spell. Before I could finish it though, the ground opened beneath her. It was all I could do to hold onto her hand as she screamed, seconds away from being lost in the darkness. I was pulling her up when the smell of decaying flesh hit my nose, bile uncontrollably rising in my throat. I heard her struggling for air as the putrid air choked her. I shouted as her hand slipped from mine and she was swallowed up, lost to me once more.

"Payment for my troubles." Came a voice that shook the ground.

"SUSANO!" I shouted but the hole had already disappeared. They were right. You never do forget your first kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

On to Chapter two

On to Chapter two! Thanks to everyone who reviewed – it means a lot to me. Also, I know I said that the story was through Haku's POV but little parts will be written through Chihiro – don't want you all thinking she died…

Haku POV

Susano had indeed dragged me back to the spirit world but not in the manner in which I originally thought. After Chihiro had fallen down to the underworld, which led to a lot of cursing on my part, I found myself standing outside the tunnel with only vague memories of running there. Taking a deep breath, I put one foot in front of the other and began walking. It was dark and there were icicles hanging from cracks in the ceiling. After a minute of traveling I found myself in an abandoned train station. After a quick glance around, I continued on.

The field was silent that day, only the crunching of snow under my feet disturbed the frost bitten hills. I was last here two years ago, when the sky was blue and warm. The thought sent shivers down my spine. To save time I transformed and took off, claws digging deep into the earth. It was disorienting at first but gave me a freedom I had longed for.

Guilt tugged at my mind. I had gotten the very reason I became human into very serious trouble. Who knew what horrors were in that abyss, waiting to make her a permanent resident? Large tears froze at the corners of my eyes while emotions I had never heard of ran dull knives through my heart. I began to remember her when she was ten. When she went from the frightened girl I was willing to protect to the resilient and stubborn woman I fell in love with. The chill from the rushing air was becoming too much and I found myself wasting precious time with frequent breaks.

I wanted to scream and sob and carry on like a toddler. I wanted to be small again and curl up in my mother's arms, breathing in her scent and drinking in her voice. Most of all, I wanted Chihiro, my beloved Chihiro, safe and in my lap, resting her head against my breast. I wanted to hear her laugh as she told me of Naomi's newest fashion trend or ranting about a rumor Ami had started. After regaining my composure I took off for the bathhouse once more.

Chihiro POV

Wherever I was, I knew I had to escape. It felt like I was in a cave, dark and damp; a place where silence was a sound itself. Darkness, I discovered, was alive. It was a breathing, suffocating, deafening, entity without the things lurking under its cover. The hole I fell through was no longer there.

"A new comer? Here," came a drawn out serpentine voice from nowhere and everywhere.

"Where exactly is here? Haku!?" My desperate screams floated back to me laced with poison laughter. In a blind panic I stood, my eyes wildly searching for some light.

"Here is Yomi, world of all that is decaying. Haku…Kohaku? The Dragon King's descendant? You know that name do you not Kuroyuki?"

Something long and scaly gripped my waist, dragging me across hard earth. I found myself gazing into dull red eyes. The only reason I was able to see them in the cave darkness was from the faint glow of life left in them.

"How do you know my twin human? I sense you have had contact with this world before but not enough to be his child."

"Of course I'm not his kid! And you can't be his twin because you sound ten or something you little punk!" I searched my captor with my hands. His skin, or was it scales?, were soft from years of rotting and his nose was stretched out into a muzzle. On his temple were two long broken horns.

"A dragon?"

"That is correct human." I found myself flying through the air only to have my shriek cut off by the grip of strong hands that felt as though at one time they might have been human.

"What is your name living one? Maybe that will help. I may not go into the world but I still have ears."  
"S-Sen!" I blurted out, eyes shut tightly. Some instinct told me that to look into the eyes belonging to the snakelike voice would bring an instant yet painful death.

"Kohaku…" I whimpered as I felt the breasts of a naked woman press against me. She was cradling me, I noticed suddenly, as a mother would.

"Do you not know where you are?" Kurouki roared, not bothering to hide his disgust at my ignorance. "You are in the section of Yomi where those who have been neglected and betrayed by those closest to them dwell for all time. You will die here human filth and be forced to live in a rotting corpse in a state of everlasting death. The arrogant fool you now call upon murdered me! I, his own flesh and blood! I who shared a womb and childhood with him! What do you think will make you any different? He has most likely deleted you from his memory. I suggest you do the same."

"You frighten her; how she shakes in her thick clothing." I wanted to believe that I was safe in this creature's arms as she rocked me gently, but I knew the motherly act was masking an unending malice. "However, what he says is true Sen. My mate fled after seeing my body being eaten by insects and walked upon by thunder gods. He sealed Yomi with a massive bolder to prevent me from tearing him to pieces for his lies. In his place I bring 1,000 of his people into Death's open arms daily. I am cursed to live forever in the realm of my faithful son, Susano."

Her story brought back the memory of a class I took last year where we learned about ancient myths. I knew she was talking of one of them. Her husband's name was so like her own, and suddenly it came to me.

"Then you're Izanami! You're a goddess!"

"Very good." She purred, stroking my hair as she might a cat.

"Are there any others in this room?" I asked, almost too terrified of the answer to ask. I knew about Yomi. The place was full of demons and the tortured souls of the departed.

"Yes, but they will ignore you. Because I have taken you under my protection they have been denied the privilege of consuming your flesh and indulging in your blood."

"Sen? Sen is it really you?" I knew this new voice. I knew it with all my heart yet it was just another thing I could not find a home for in my memories. It was old and wise, full of undying concern.

'_It's something you wouldn't recognize. It's called love.'_

"I know you…but from where…from where?"

"Bah! Forgotten again! Can't allow your thoughts to dwell on old Kamaji can you?!"

"Kamaji!" We worked together, that's how I knew him.

'_Would you like your memories back?'_ That's what Haku had said but what did he mean 'my memories'? What could I possibly have forgotten?

'_I sense you have had contact with this world before…'_ Crazy dragon. Something disturbed me though, why didn't the sudden realization that goddesses and dragons existed terrify me? Why wasn't I screaming or being torn to pieces?

"As much as I despise my brother I cannot bring myself to kill that which he has claimed as his own." Kuroyuki answered my thoughts.  
"What?"

"You were asking why I did not kill you seeing as I am a dragon. If his scent were not oozing from every pore on your body you would now be a bloody pulp. Izanami's protection means little to me."

"Watch you tongue beast!" The goddess hissed.

Hands were prying me from her iron grip, as she was distracted. One closed over my mouth to prevent me from yelling.

"We must move quickly Sen." Came a brief tickle from beside my ear before Kamaji led me off into the darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**WOW! I'm on a roll now! Then again with PSSAs I have extra time to plot. Thanks for the reviews (especially you Buddy!). Also my book is slightly limited on some myths so I may exaggerate or use some impromptu – forgive me.**

The dark waters of Lake Biwa were frozen over and night had fallen. The ice was cloudy with several inches of hardened liquid and even my talons could not break through. The Torii Gate watched me with blank eyes as I struggled, hitting the ice with my tail and scratching viciously. I was shivering all over before I finally made a hole large enough to plunge into the chilled water beneath. As I swam deeper the water grew warmer as I grew closer to my former home at the bottom.

I was worried how my family would receive me; had my parents had other children in my absence or were they even still there? Maybe they were dead themselves, mere memories? My father was fearsome to say the least. Wild red hair and eyes to match, like my grandfather and twin. My mind inevitably took me back to the day I left.

_Flashback_

"You weakling!" My father had roared slapping my face so hard that it stung for hours afterwards. My mother cowered in a corner, her dark hair draping in front of her thin and worn face in an effort to hide the tears flowing from her eyes. I had looked at her pleadingly in my earlier years but by that time I had gotten use to my father's hatred. He had despised me then and even more after Kuroyuki died.

"Why must everyone in my family be a disappointment!?"

"I can't control what the humans do! It is not my fault they are filling in the river." I had tried so hard to not let my anger gain control over me that day, to try and protect her from him once more and take it all upon myself. At the time I left she was pregnant again. My efforts ended up in vain either way though. A few days after I left she gave birth early and died from blood loss. My sister was so small that there was no hope for her and she passes hours later. At least that was what I heard from Yubaba.

"What are you suggesting you worthless filth!? I gave the river to you in hopes that some responsibility would make you more of man and now the river is gone! Who's fault would it be?"

My mother helped me run away later that night, saying she chose the life she had but I didn't have to. After a few days I woke up in the bathhouse under Kamaji's care. Some worker woman had found me unconscious on the bridge and brought me to him. After that I served my time at the bathhouse and ran Yubaba's pitiful errands for her in exchange for news on the family I was determined to never return to.

_End of flashback_

Now I was back to the place of my nightmares. The home of the Dragon King was elaborately ordained with brightly colored jewels and other petty expensive things. It was the underwater light that made it shimmer even on the darkest days that gave it its splendor in my opinion. In the middle ran a great hall used for banquets and festivals. My favorite part of the entire manor was at the very top at which a balcony jutted out enabling a clear view of Mt. Mikami where the hero Hidesato aided my grandfather by killing a giant centipede that had plagued our family. The story always surprised me – a dragon asking a human for help.

I passed through the barrier that stopped the water from entering and flooding the home, allowing fresh oxygen to come in. The window at my old room was open and I flew in. As my feet hit the carpet I noticed an immediate difference. Where my room had been a dull gray with few garnishes this new room was violet and lavish. In a small white cradle a toddler slept, sucking on her thumb. I acknowledged my half-sister with a mix of wonder and envy. My father had obviously remarried and doted on his daughter as he did my brother. I had been forgotten. The few items I had possessed were gone and I was deemed as good as dead. I walked quietly out of the room and softly shut the door.

Walking down the hall gave me a sense of déjà vu. I hadn't been there for years and yet I still knew every room and every crack in the walls. The place was still home to me. I quick peek into Kuroyuki's room revealed that it was untouched. Just more proof as to my father's favoritism. I looked in my parent's room and saw a new woman sleeping there, wrapped in white sheets alone. She was pretty enough but I could tell she did not possess the grace my mother had.

My father was nowhere to be found until I found myself pinned against the wall hot breath pouring down my neck. Although my heart beat sped up with fear I forced myself to remain calm.

"Father." He looked at me for a minute and with a growl transformed. He was a tall, aging man, and even in his nightgown he held a violent aura.

"You're dead boy; been dead for years and yet here you are. What did you come back for? Ran away like the coward I knew you to be." He led me own the stairs made of coral that had been scrubbed until it shown with a light of its own. When we reached the smaller room where the servants dined he pointed at a seat and obediently I sat, my hands folded on the table.

We stared at each other in silence for awhile before I was able to gain the courage needed to speak.

"I'm here because I am on a journey to Yomi. Someone I cherish was taken unfairly from me. I need to save them."

He pounded a fist on the wooden table as he jumped to his feet. "It's to late to save your brother!"

"I have no intentions of saving Kuroyuki. After I ran away, I worked at a bathhouse as a witch's apprentice. I realized that she was keeping me as a slave but she already stole my name. After some time a human stumbled into our world with her parents. I helped her to save them and she accidentally gave me my freedom. She was returned back to her world but I longed to go with her.

The boiler man, Kamaji, came up with a plan to turn me human. He offered me his life, saying that he was old and his life was ending either way. I killed him and made a deal with Susano. Humanity for memories. I lived as a human for a few years until I found her again. The deal was broken and as payment Susano took her to Yomi. I want her back." I finished and watched him patiently.

He drummed the table with his fingers, deep in thought. It surprised me that he was considering helping me get something that would only lead to my happiness. He reluctantly nodded. "There is only one way that I know of. To be killed by someone close to you, like the boiler man you spoke of." He walked over to a wall and moved a picture of my mother to reveal a secret compartment. When he came back to me he held a small silver knife in the shape of a dragon, it's tail making the blade. He held it reverently out to me. "This was originally intended for Kuroyuki when he was made king. Since it is not fit for a girl I will give it to you."

It was heavy in my hands, magnificent in its simplicity. I put it into my shirt and closed my eyes as he brought out his own blade. The pain was so unbearable that I barely noticed I hit the floor. The only sound I could make was a bloody gurgle. My father stood over me, looking into my eyes with hatred I never even thought possible. His eyes looked wild and as untamed as ever.

"You should have never returned," he said. "Now that you are dead I shall remain king. Do you know why Kuroyuki died hating you? I killed him and framed you." He laughed uncontrollably. "He thought you killed him! And then you conveniently disappeared and we all blamed it on suicide. Now you really will be dead and this time you will not escape. No one has ever returned from Yomi and you will not be the first!"

"Chihiro…" I choked, before I could no longer breathe; my own blood choking me.

The ground gave way from underneath me. I was falling into darkness, into Yomi. The pain was slowly drawn from my body as I continued my decent. In a moment it was gone. I was standing in front of a woman dressing in a flowing kimono. I cursed under my breath.

"What is wrong young dragon?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"I apologize but I was hoping to reach Yomi." I bowed low in reverence.

"That is why I saved you. I am Amaterasu, goddess of the sun. I wish to make a deal with you."


End file.
